FIFA WCup investigation completed by next week

In this file photo Confederation of African Football President Issa Hayatou, right, speaks as FIFA President Sepp Blatter, left, looks on during a joint press conference in Libreville, Gabon. FIFA vice president and African football head Issa Hayatou denied allegations made against him by British newspaper The Sunday Times that he received favors for voting for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. In a statement late Sunday night, the Confederation of African Football called the corruption allegations against its president “fanciful” and “ridiculous.” (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FIFA’s ethics prosecutors say the investigation into the successful World Cup bids from Russia and Qatar will be completed by next week.

The statement comes a day after The Sunday Times newspaper in Britain reported fresh allegations of corruption surrounding the choice of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. Garcia has also been investigating Russia’s 2018 bid.

In a statement, the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee says “after months of interviewing witnesses and gathering materials, we intend to complete that phase of our investigation by June 9.”

The statement says the team, headed by New York-based Michael Garcia, plans to submit a report six weeks later.

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It says the report “will consider all evidence potentially related to the bidding process, including evidence collected from prior investigations.”